Wire-bending machine.



'E. GASTON.

WIRE BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION EILED JUNE 21. I915- Patented Feb. 15, 1916;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E 1.6 [5 ERRY GesT N EA GASTON WIRE'BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21,19l5.

Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 E15 aERRYGesToN UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELSIBERRY GASTON, OF OTTUMWA, IOWA.

. WIRE-IBENDING MACHINE.

Application filed June 221, 1915. Serial No. 35,366;

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, ELSBERRY' GASTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ottumwa, in the county of -Wapello and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire-Bending Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to wire bending vmachines, and has for its primary object to provide a device for easily and quickly bending and shaping lifting hooks on the handles of a wire pan or plate lifter.

The invention has for' a more part cular object to provide a machine for operating upon pan or plate lifters of that character which includes two relatively movable handle members wherein means is provided for bending the lifting hooks'by a single movement of a lever simultaneously upon the extremities of the handle members.

. It is another and more specific object of my invention to provide an 'oscillatable die member adapted to form one of the lifting hooks, and means for adjusting said die member to vary the extent of its movement.-

The invention has for an additional object to provide a wire bendingmachine which is provided with improved means for initially bending a length of wire from which the device is to be formed, and means for holding the workin proper position upon the work-support, whereby the lifting 'hooksmaybe readily bent in the wire.

WVith the above and otherobjects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts to be hereinaftermore fully described, claimed, and-illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a perspective view of the complete machine, showing a pan or plate lifter arranged upon the' work support;

Fig-'2 is an enlarged'longitudinal vertical section of the machine; Fig. 3 is" a section takenon the line 8 3 .ofFig. 2; Fig.4.- is

an end elevation showing the manner of inserting a length of wire in the machine to be initially bent; Fig. 5 is adetail transverse section taken on the line-55 of'Fig.

2'; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of the oscillating die member; Fig. 7 is adetail perspective. view showing the end portions of'thehandle members of a panlifter which have been provided with lifting hooks by means of the present invention;

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 15 19 16. n

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view ,ofthe V slidable implement holding member, and

Fig. 9 is a implement.

Referring in detail to the drawings, '5 designates an upright post or standard which may be suitably mounted and'su'pperspective view of the complete ported at its lower end. To the upper end' of this post and on each side thereof,the

'metal plates 6 are bolted or otherwise se cured, said plates projecting above the post. T

The horizontally disposed work supporting bar 7 is arranged between the upper ends of tlieseplates and is suitably secured to the same. One end of this bar is obliquely inolined downwardly, as at 8, and in the' upper face thereof, a plurality of outwardly projecting pins 9, preferably seven in number, are suitably secured.- The work supporting bar? has its upper face recessed or cut away, as indicated at 7*, and a longitudinally extending groove :01 channel 10 is also formed in this upper face of'the 'work supporting bar and opens at one end upon the face ofthe inclined end portion 8 of the bar while the other end thereof communicates with the recess7. A metal plate 11 is secured to'the upper face of the work supporting bar; over this groove and v has an open-ended longitudinal slot 11 formed-therein. This plate serves as a retaining means for alongitudinally slidable bar 40' which is engaged in the groove 10.

An upstanding bolt or screw 41' is fixed in said bar and is adapted for movementin the slot 11 of the retaining plate. The upper end of this bolt is provided witha head 42 for a purpose to be later referred to. In the inner end of the-bar 40, a stud or pin 43 is fixed, and this pin engaging the inner end of the platell limits theoutward sliding movement of the bar 40 and prevents its entire withdrawal from the groove 10. The transversely projecting pins 12 also'project from opposite faces of the bar 7. The pins 9 and 12 are provided for the purpose'of initially forming certain bends in the wires of which theimplement is constructed, and asthe presentti'nvention does not include such specific means, the'same will not be further referred to in detail.

Upon the opposite end of thework supporting bar. 7 with respect to the downwardly inclined portion 8 thereof and .upon the side faces of said bar, the upstanding plates 13 are secured. Contiguous to the inner edges of these plates, the upper face of the bar Tl is provided with a socket 14L. Upon a transversely disposed pin 15, secured at its ends in the plates 13, the oscillatory die member 16 is mounted. This die member, as clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, is provided with the spaced cars 17 which are loosely engaged upon the pin 15.. One end portion 18 of the die member, projecting from one side of the cars, is relatively short and heavy, while the remaining portion ofv the die member extending upon the opposite side of the ears, indicated by the numeral 19, is comparatively-long and of somewhat less thickness than the portion 18 of said die member. This latter portion of the die member extends. inwardly and downwardly into: the socket let in the upper face of the work supporting bar. transversely disposed pin 20 has its ends fixed in the upstanding plates 18, and upon this latter pin, one end of a lever 21 is loosely engaged. This lever, adjacent to its pivotally mounted end, is formed with an obliquely inclined lug or projection 22 which is adapted to extend downwardly into the socket 14 in the work supporting bar in the manipulation of said lever, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. For the purpose of limiting the oscilla-- tory' movement of the die member 16 in one direction, I provide the adjustable screw shown at 23, which is threaded upwardly into the work supporting bar and has its upper end disposed in: the socket 14. immediately beneath the inwardly extending end portion 19 of the die member. It will thus be understood that, by simply adjusting this screw, the extent of downward move ment of the inner end of the die member may be varied and the upward movement of the opposite end of the die member correspondingly increased or decreased in extent.

In order to prevent a longitudinal shifting movement of the work upon the sup porting bar, vertically disposed U-shaped holdingrods 24 are employed, the arms of which extend upwardly through openings 25 provided in the bar 7 adjacent each of its ends. angular heads 27 and these levers are arranged upon opposite sides of the supporting post 5. One end of each of the heads on the respective levers extends inwardly between the opposite edges of the opposed plates6 and is pivotally mounted upon a pin 27 which connects said plates. The

other ends of the:lever heads are notched.

Above the pin 15, a second The levers 26 are provided with r or bifurcated, as at 28, to receive the intermediate portions of the respective holding rods 27':- It will be apparentthat, upon,

an outward movement of the lower ends of :the levers, the holding rods are forced upwardly through the openings inthe work supporting bar 7 and their upper ends projected above the upper surface of the bar and into engagement with the wire lifter with and bending the same over a series of: V p1ns,. indicated at .29, WVlllCll are fixed in 3 one of the. plates 6. At the central bend in i the wire, the opposed portions of the wire are closely engaged for a short distance,

and these portions of the wires which con-.

stitute the outer ends of the handle members, are adapted more particularly to be operated upon by the present IIIVQIltlOD' and 1 formedinto lifting hooks. The wire lifter is arranged upon the supporting bar 7-in the manner indicated in Fig. 1, the engaged outer end portions of the wire of one handle member A projecting outwardly and between the spaced plates 13, as indicated at B, such-extremity of the handle ex tending beneath the 1 pin :15 upon which the oscillatory die member 161is mounted. The wire at the outer end of the other handle; member A projects inwardly between the opposed wire portions of said handle member and is disposed over the socket or recess 1a in the upper surface of.

the bar 7. The bar 40 is then forced inwardly upon the work support so thatthe screw or-boltdl will be disposed between the opposed portions of the wire handle members and the head 42 of said bolt will bear upon the upperzhandle member, there by retaining; the implement securely in position upon the work support. The lever 21 is then forced downwardly fromthe position shown in Fig. 1, so that the lug 22 thereof will engage theinwardly projecting portion C of the handle member which is disposed over the socket 1e and force the samedownwardl' y into said socket andinto.

end portion of the die member 16. This die member; is thereby oscillated and the inner end forced downwardly, while .the outer end of said member is forced upwardly engagement with? the inwardly projecting and into engagement with the extended end portionB of the other handle member so that such extended end of the handle is bent or;

forced upwardlyto produce the hook thereon. This movement of the die member is, of course, limited by contact of the same with the adjustable screw 23. In this manner,

it will be seen that the two hooks onthe handle members of the device are simultaneously formed in a single -,movement of members of the lifter are formed, is ap proximately 36 inches in length and, in

orderto initially bend these wires intermediate of their ends to produce parallel portions, I provide a second lever 30 which is fulcrumed at one of-its ends upon the pin 31 fixed in the upstanding plates 13. A groove 32 is cut in the end face of the bar 7 whichis disposed between these plates, and the end of the lever 30 is reduced and bifurcated or formed with ears, as at 33, through which the pivotpin 31 is loosely engaged.

34. designates a gage plate'which extends laterally. from one side of the post or upright 5 and is adjustably secured to said post by means of the screws 35, the shanks of which extend through the vertical slots 36 provided in the angular inner end of the gage plate. By loosening the screws, it will be readily seen that this plate may be shifted vertically upon the post. In the use of this portionof the machine, one or more wires indicated at W, is inserted down-- wardly between the end face30 of the lever 30 at one side of the cars 33 thereon and the pivot ,pin 31 until the lower end of said wire rests upon the gage plate 34. The lever 30 is'then thrown over to the left so that the end face 30 thereof will engage the wire and force or bend the'same outwardly and downwardly around the pin 31. When the lever 30 has been disposed in an outwardly projecting horizontal position, the wirev will have been bent upon itself and the parallel longitudinally'extending portions formed therein.

7 From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, manner of operation,

and several advantages of my invention wire.

seen that, by the adjustment of the setscrew 23Qfor the movable die member, the

angularity of the. lifting hooks with. respect to the handle members of the implement, maybe varied as desired within certain limits. f g

The machine, asja whole, is of. compara tively. simple construction and: is accurate 1 and reliable in eral functions. 7 V 1 V Whilef-I have'shownand described the preferred construction and arrangement of the several elements employed, it is to be understood that the invention, is susceptible of considerable modification therein, and

the performance of its sev- I, therefore, reserve the privilege of resorting to all such legitimate changes as may scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is T 1. In a wire bending machine, a movable die member, and a lever adapted to engage one wire to be bent to 'form'a' hook thereon and also effect a movement of the die member to engage the same with a second wire .be fairly embodied within the spirit and" so I to be bent and form a hook inrthelatterr 2. Ina wire bending machine, a lever 3. A machine for forming terminal hooks upon wire implement handles, including adaptedto engageandfform a hook in a' relatively movable elements to simulta-' neously engagethe wire handles and form the hooks therein. 7 t

41. A machine for forming terminal hooks iiponavire implement handles, including a' lever to directly engage one wire and form a hook therein, and a movable element engaged by said wire in the formation of the hook to operate upon a second wire handle member and simultaneously form a hook therein. I I 5.A. machine for'operating upon implements having two handle members formed of wire, said .machine including a lever pro vided with means to engage one of the wire anembers' and form a hook therein, and a movable element engaged by the hook as it is formed in the first wire member whereby sa d element 13 moved and engaged with the second wire member to alsoform a hook therein. I v 6. A machine for operating upon :imple ments having two'handle members formed of. wire, said machine including a lever provided 'withmeansto engage one of the wire members and form a-hook therein, a movable element engaged by the hook as it is formed in the first wire member whereby angularity of the hooks may be predetermined.

7. A wire bending machine for operating upon implements having two wire handles, said machine including a lever provided with a lug to engage one of the wire handle members and form a hook therein, and an oscillatory die block adapted to be engaged by the hook as it is formed and thereby moved to engage the second wire member and form a hook therein.

8. A wire bending machine for operating upon implements having two wire handles, said handles having end portions projecting in relatively opposite directions, said machine including a lever having a lug to engage the end portion of one handle member and bend the same into a hook, and an oscillatory die block engaged by said hook as it is formed whereby the die block is os- 'illated and engaged with the end portion of the other handle member to also bend the same into a hook extending in a reverse direction with respect to the hook on the firstnamed handle member.

9. A wire bending machine for operating upon implements having two wire handles,

said handles having end portions project-- ing in relatively opposite directions, said machine including a lever provided with a lug to engage the end portion of one handle member and bend the same into a hook, and a movable die block actuated simultaneously with the formation of said hook to cause said die block to engage the projecting end of the other handle member and also bend thesame into a hook.

10. A wire bending machine for operating upon implements having two wire handles, said handles having end portions proj ecting in relatively opposite directions, said machine including a lever provided with a lug to engage the end portion of one handle member and bend the same into a hook, a movable die block actuated simultaneously with the formation of said hook to cause said die block to engage the projecting end of the other handle member and also bend the same into a hook, and means for limit:

ing the movement of said die block to vary the form of the hook produced upon the latter handle member.

11. A wire bendingmachine for implements having two wire handles, said han dles being provided with end portions extending in relatively opposite directions, said machine including a lever provided with meansto engage the projecting end portion of onehandle member to form the same into a hook, a movable element engaged by the wire as the hook is formed thereinand thereby actuated to engage the projecting end of the second handle-member and form the same into a hook, and

means for regulating the extent of move-.

ment of said element whereby the hooks may be bent into a predetermined form.

12. A wire bendingmachine for operat ing upon implements'having two wire handles, said handles being provided with end portions projecting'in relatively opposite directions,v said machine including a supporting bar for the implement provided with a socket over which the end portion of one handle member'is disposed, a lever fulcrumed at one end upon the supporting bar and provided with a lug to engagesaid projection on the handle member and form the same into a hook, and an oscillatory die block having one end projecting into said socket to be engaged by the hook it is formed upon the handle member, whereby the block is oscillated and the opposite end thereof engaged with the end portion of the other handle member to also bend the same 1nto a hook.

13. A wire bending machine for operating 1 upon implements having two wire-handles, said handles being provided with end portions pro ecting in relatively oppos1ted1rections, said machine including a supporting;

bar for the implement I provided with a socket over which the-end portion of :one

handle member is disposed, a lever fulcrumed at one end upon the supporting bar and provided with a lug to engage said proj ection on the handle member and formcthe same into a hook, an oscillatory die block having one end projecting into said socket to be engaged by the hook as it is formed upon the handle member, whereby the blockis oscillated and the opposite end. thereof engaged with the end portion of the other handle member to also bend thesame into a hook, and an adjustablestop devicevfor limiting the oscillatory movement of the die member whereby the hooks are bent into predeterminedv form.

14. A wire bending machme'for operating upon implements having two wire handles,

said han dles being providedwith end portions vided with a lug toengage the end portion of the first-named handle member and form the same into a hook, said book as ityis formed engaging one end of the die member lever mounted between said platesand procluding a pivoted operating lever and means operating upon the respective handle members in a single movement of the lever to simultaneously form a hook in each of said handle members. 7

16. In a wire bending machine, a work support, means mounted upon one end of said support for operating upon the work, we

a slide bar mounted upon the other end of the support, and means carried by said slide bar to engage the work and retain the same in position upon the support. a

17. In a wire bending machine, a work support, means mounted upon one end of the support to operate upon the work, a slide bar mounted upon the other end of the support, and an upstanding bolt fixed in said slide bar provided with a head to bear upon the work and securely hold the same in position upon the support. A

18. In a wire bending machine, a work support, means mounted upon one end of said support to operate upon the work, said support being provided in its other-end with a longitudinal groove, a bar slidable in said groove, a plate fixed to the support over said groove and having an open-ended longitudinal slot, an upstanding bolt fixed in the bar movable in said slot, said bolt having a head to bear upon the work and retain the same in position upon the support, and a stop pin fixed in the inner end of said bar to engage said plate and'prevent the complete withdrawal of the bar from said groove.

19. A machine for forming terminal hooks upon the corresponding ends of superposed able means cooperating with one of the hook- V forming elements to predetermine the angularity ofthe hooks. V H p 20. Amachine for forming terminal hooks upon superposed wire handle members, in-

cluding a pivotally mounted lever provided with meansto engage one of the wire members and form a hook therein, and concur rently actuated means operating upon the other handle member to form a hook therein.

21. Amachine for forming terminal hooks upon superposed wire handle members,in-I

eluding a pivotally mounted lever provided with means to engage one of the wire members and form a hook therein, concurrently v actuated means operating upon the other handle member to form a hook therein, and

adjustable meanscooperating with said last: named means to predetermine the angularity of said hooks.

22. A machine for forming terminal hooks upon the corresponding'ends of wire handle members,said machine-including an element to operate upon one of the handle members and form a hook therein, and means engaged and actuated by said hook as it is formed in the handle member to simultaneously "en gage the second wire handle member and form a hook thereln.

members, said machine including an element to operate'upon one of the handle members and form a hook therein, means engaged and actuated by said hook as it is formed in the handle member to simultaneously en gage the second wire-handle member and form a hook thereln, and ad ustable means V cooperating with the last-named means to predetermine the angularity of said hooks.

In testimony whereof I hereunuto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. V

. Witnesses:

MARY HEFFRON, VIOLA WRIGHT.

ELSBERRY GASTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Batentsf Washington, D. G. V 

